How Vincy Heat humiliating 10-0 World Cup Qualifiers loss to Low-Rank Guatemala became a National Disgrace & Has Become a Joke, an Expression, and Even a Meme.
Just A Reminder Before I Start To Elaborate.
As St. Vincent and the Grenadines Senior Men’s Football team – Vincy Heat, prepares for the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, Head Coach Kendale Mercury wants the public to be “realistic” about the team’s chances. Mercury stated emphatically, “that his team does not have what it takes at this juncture to qualify for the World Cup finals.”
( The Vincentian-Fri, Feb 12, 2021)
Saturday 13th February 2021 the SVGFF announce a 24-member squad for their WorldCup Qualifiers in Curacao on 25th March 2021. Head Coach Mercury then take to the airways of SVGSPN hosted by Orandi Ash to defend his selections and repeated controversial statements.
( SVGSPN- Thur, Feb 18, 2021)
(1) NATIONS LEAGUE
The national men’s senior football team appeared to have been doing well in the Nations’ Cup, only to suffer a most ignominious defeat at the hands of Dominica. Many seem to think that the whole truth of that ridiculous exit from making it through to the CONCACAF Cup finals has not been in receipt of a national discourse. That is unacceptable.
(2) WORLD CUP 2022 QUALIFIERS/ GOLD CUP (Pending)
Vincy Heat is involved in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers. The change is, as always, huge, but this is not the first time and so we keep our hopes high that one of these days we will be sufficiently competitive.
Interestingly, despite all that has been said, the first World Cup engagement that this country had in the lead up to the edition of 1994 under Brazilian Ramos was perhaps the most memorable, even though it was not the best.
With each successive edition of the World Cup, Vincentian sports fans are hopeful for better fortunes, only to be disappointed.
In 2020, the SVGFF began preparations for the World Cup Qualifiers. At the same time, several local competitions were also in progress.
In the recent past, the national training squad was announced. Immediately, the floodgates of criticism were flung open and this is still the case today. Selection is never easy and criticisms are to be expected.
The explanation for the exclusion of some of the nation’s better players included their absence from training. Many who closely follow the sport are of the view that the stance of the Coach has been particularly harsh if only because too many of the better players have been omitted.
(3) PREPARATION
Over the past several days the national sports news has been filled with information on Vincy Heat’s challenges regarding the SVGFF’s application for permission to commence training of the full training squad at its facility at Brighton.
Vincy Heat’s management and players finally received official clearance, approval of their proposal on Tuesday 23 February, several days after the submission was made, and the Camp expected to begin.
Kendale Mercury, coach of Vincy Heat, has made it clear to all sport-loving Vincentians that the challenges, being what they are, should afford us some sobriety in our expectations of the team in the Qualifiers as mentioned above in an article dated not too far back Friday 12th February 2021
Vincy Heat was already doomed to failure in so far as qualifying for the next round of World Cup 2022 Preliminaries.
The most we can and should expect from Vincy Heat is that the players give of their best, under the present coach.
(4) MY OPINION
In one of the most shocking WorldCup qualifiers of the Concacaf Round of matches played, Vincy Heat conceded five goals in the first half as we were utterly humiliated by Guatemala. Fans across the world reacted in shock and horror, while the players themselves could scarcely believe the magnitude of the defeat.
Our beloved Vincy Heat suffered the worst defeat in their history to a team rank 130 in world football. That infamous scoreline has taken on a meaning of its own to describe any kind of defeat or a heavy blow physical or figurative.
The reaction, and dark humor that has accompanied this humiliation, is in stark contrast to the national Pandemic/Volcano Eruption that met St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ other footballing catastrophe.
In Nov 2015, the nation went into mourning after losing 6-1 to the high-ranking USA in very cold weather in Missouri. This time around, memes have been created mocking the unfortunate protagonists of Vincy Heat’s defeat. Guatemala had the match all but wrapped up within the first half as they led 5-0.
It was not just a defeat for Vincy Heat based on the statements made in the Vincentian Newspaper when the Squad was announced in February 2021, but a humiliation for the host us. It was the most extraordinary night’s football I have ever watch and it was a result you could never imagine in a million years.
It’s hard to know whether to give praise to the Guatemalans or criticize Vincy Heat for their incompetence.
This is not playing against a club team in SVG; this is Guatemala, in Guatemala. It’s one of the most incredible things I have witnessed. Vincy Heat almost completely collapsed. To concede five goals in 45 minutes in a match of this magnitude beggars belief.
I have to give Guatemala enormous credit, they played brilliant football. They studied Vincy Heat’s weakness, their weak spots, and their weaknesses defensively.
It was a night of incredulity and you feel sorry for the Vincy Heat players. It was not like they were arrogant and you felt it served them right. They lost their heads, got out of position, and made a real hash of it and Guatemala capitalized on that in true Guatemala style with great professionalism.
In closing, Vincentians love the sport. Vincentians love football. Vincentian sports fans will not abandon Vincy Heat, even if it appears that FEW DESTABILISERS/DISTRACTORS who feel football in St. Vincent MUST always be about them may have already contributed to this.
Dominique Stowe
